Chapter 115: True or False?
The next morning, before they left, Flaris received a reply from her demon race.
"Cousin! One of them really is an evil demon, but we don’t have much information about him!" she said hurriedly.
At that instant, Priam felt his heart speed up. The piece he most wanted to exist really did exist. Everything had fallen into place to make his plan at least minimally viable.
"My race gathered information on the most outstanding demons who might be able to save that bastard. In total, I have 9 names..." Flaris began to explain in detail.
Indeed, her race possessed great influence and could easily buy favors and information. Of course, this was limited to the demons of the Mortal Plane. Flaris revealed the names, aliases, histories, achievements, and defining traits of 9 demons.
Priam listened to everything in silence until she finally finished.
"The demon in question is the fourth one I mentioned. He calls himself the Crucible Devil," Flaris said, narrowing her eyes slightly, because even she had already heard some macabre stories about that demon.
"He has never used his abilities to save anyone — or at least not according to the information we have — but his ability to refine energies and his knowledge of meridians and the physical body are considered unmatched."
"He is definitely number one among the nine in that regard. But his personality is terrible. If you offend him in any way, he won’t hesitate to kill cruelly. But sometimes, he spares certain people in exchange for an astronomical amount of resources. In other words, there are clearly times when he needs to get money."
Priam pondered the information before asking another question.
"What does he look like?"
"Our information about his features is limited, but one recurring detail in our research is that, in all his appearances, he always completely covers his body, and his life energy seems like that of someone almost dead. Besides having a small stature, his torso is also considerably thin, with no apparent wings, tail, or horns. No one has ever seen his face or knows his true appearance," Flaris answered soberly.
"The Crucible Devil started becoming famous around two hundred years ago, but due to the countless enemies he accumulated over time, he began constantly traveling between different demon and humanoid planets. Finding him is extremely difficult. The only recent information I have about him is already several decades old. In fact, on his home planet, there’s a rumor that he has already died."
Priam stayed silent for a few moments before replying:
"Great. Ask your race to discreetly spread the information that the Crucible Devil was sighted on the demon planets. Don’t spread the news aggressively; be as subtle as possible. I don’t want this to implicate or connect back to your demon race."
"This..." Flaris couldn’t hide her hesitation. "What are you planning to do?"
"Very simple." Priam didn’t hesitate. "Tomorrow, I want them to change the rumor, saying that the Crucible Devil received the Aether-Wood Deer Supreme General’s request for help and became interested. Then... as if it were a gift from the heavens, this demon will ’help save’ Young Master Hahho."
Flaris’s eyes widened as she sensed the insanity present in Priam’s gaze.
He nodded slowly. "Yes. I intend to disguise myself as this demon. That way, I’ll be able to infiltrate them... and then I’ll see what I can gain from it."
Flaris was stunned and swallowed hard.
"Cousin, this... You definitely can’t do this! They aren’t that easy to fool. That Supreme General is known precisely for his extremely meticulous and bloody methods. Besides, the level of existence of someone like the Crucible Devil is very difficult to imitate. Trying to pretend you possess his abilities... if you’re exposed, you’ll be in great danger."
"Don’t worry. I don’t consider them fools," Priam replied calmly. "I have means to make them believe who I am... and not just believe it, but believe it without any shadow of doubt... or so I hope..."
Priam felt confident in his plan, but he knew it was never possible to be absolutely certain of anything. Unpredictable things could always happen.
He sighed and said, "You’re right. Impersonating someone of this level is extremely difficult... however, if the impersonation is done perfectly, then disproving the identity will be equally difficult."
Flaris was speechless for a few moments. Even so, if Priam had decided to do this, then she would support him and trust him.
"The planet where your race has the greatest influence should be exactly where the rumors that the Crucible Devil is currently there will start to appear. If everything goes well, tomorrow, they’ll send people to look for him. They’ll also spread information saying that they want to find him."
Priam finished, and Flaris took a deep breath as she nodded.
She wasted no time and immediately sent the messages.
After that, everyone calmly headed toward their large "private courtyard."
***
On the third day.
In the innermost part of the Aether-Wood Deer race, a huge commotion was taking place inside a large building.
In a spacious room, covered by countless natural energy crystals, an ethereal pale-green figure was lying on a pulsating bed. His entire being looked like a completely cracked vase, as if he could explode into pieces with a single touch.
Near the bed stood an old man with long white hair and an absurdly imposing physique. Beside him, an old demon was carefully examining the dying young man.
That demon was one of the greatest known meridian specialists. He was only not considered the best because an absurdly evil and extremely hard-to-find demon occupied first place.
Minutes... then hours... passed in absolute silence inside the room.
Suddenly, the demon stiffened and took a step back.
"This old man is incompetent..."
The white-haired man’s expression immediately sank. His entire figure pulsed with a thunderous aura.
"TRASH!!"
*BOOM!!*
With his roar, the crystals beneath his feet cracked and shattered.
That demon turned around and hurriedly left the room.
"Father... father..." Hahho suddenly opened his eyes and whispered in a weak, suffering voice.
That Supreme General swallowed hard and quickly crouched beside him.
"My boy, stay calm. Your wounds are simple, and we’ll soon find a solution. Daddy will make sure you’ll be fine!"
Hahho trembled as his life energy started becoming unstable. That was because he knew better than anyone the true severity of his injuries. His father was trying to downplay it, even while showing an expression filled with despair.
"Father... you must... you definitely have a way... save me... save me, please..."
"Hahho! You’ll be fine, definitely... you will!" the old man said before hurriedly leaving the room.
He wanted to stay beside his son, but he didn’t dare. That was because he felt like crying, and he couldn’t remain calm near him.
The servants waiting outside were even more stunned.
That was because this Supreme General was known as the most brutal and bloodthirsty figure who had ever existed in the race. He had fought countless victorious battles. And in all of them, he not only won but also captured a large portion of the enemy humanoid armies.
Thus, his entire race held immense banquets while slowly absorbing them. He was an absolute hero to the Primordial Chaos Beasts and, at the same time, the worst of villains to the humanoids.
But now... he looked only like a fragile and completely devastated father.
When he took a deep breath, he turned his head and roared at a nearby female figure:
"If anything happens to our son... I swear... I’ll gather all my soldiers and turn the entire Ylisse Clan, along with their planet, into a lifeless world! Besides that... I’ll take revenge on everyone protecting that bastard who did this!"
The woman’s scalp even tingled as she snapped back, full of anger:
"And whose fault is that?! If it weren’t for you spoiling that brat and making him believe he was a god among mortals, how would this disaster have happened?! I heard the rumors. He couldn’t even move thirty percent of his own power to defend himself! All because he looked down on his opponent! Is that something the son of a General like you — someone who fought his entire life — should do?!"
"YOU!!" the old man roared, turning red with rage.
The two stared at each other, consumed by hatred.
That woman definitely wasn’t weaker than him, and no one within the race would be crazy enough to face her.
She was his wife.
When the two got married, there had been an enormous celebration among the Aether-Wood Deer, because they were considered a couple destined to produce extraordinary children.
That was indeed what happened.
But now... they looked like they were about to kill each other.
Suddenly, a figure ran toward the two of them. Upon noticing the situation, he spoke hurriedly:
"Supreme General! Madam Vice-General! Please, calm down. This subordinate has just heard a new rumor about someone... maybe this person can save the Young Master!"
"Who?" The woman turned immediately. "Quick, say it!"
The figure answered in a rush:
"Among the demons, rumors have started circulating that the Crucible Devil really appeared... and he is probably already on the merchant planet Ignis Cross. His abilities are incomparable. If it really is him... maybe... no, definitely... he can definitely save Young Master Hahho."
"Crucible Devil?" The couple revealed shocked expressions.
That was, without a doubt, the only figure who truly had a chance to save their son. If even he couldn’t do it, then no one could.
"Yes. The rumors also say that he heard the call we sent out to the demons. He is known for desiring enormous amounts of money on certain occasions. And this time... apparently, he became interested," the figure answered hurriedly. "He has countless enemies, so he is forced to constantly travel, appearing randomly in different places. No one would ever dare pretend to be someone with that many enemies; that would be digging their own grave."
"Who cares if it’s true or false?!" the Supreme General roared. "If it’s real, then it doesn’t matter what he asks for. As long as he can save my son’s meridians, we’ll pay any price. And if it’s fake... so what?! Do we have any other solution?!"